Rotmistrov, Pavel Aleksejevitsj.

Rotmistrov, Pavel Aleksejevitsj, born 23-06-1901 in Moskou  joined the Red Army in 1919 and served during the Russian Civil War, where he was involved in the suppression of the Kronstadt Rebellion and the Polish-Soviet War. He led a platoon and later a company in the 31st regiment of the 11th division. In 1928, he joined the Froenze Military Academy, after Mikael Frunze . From 1937 to 1940, he was an instructor at the Moscow Higher Military Academy.   In May 1941, he became the chief of staff of the 3rd Mechanized Corps.

Rotmistrov led his first tank battalion during the Soviet-Finnish War. He began the war against Germany with the 3rd Mechanized Corps, which was destroyed during Operation Barbarossa. Next, he led the 8th Tank Brigade, which was transferred to the Kalinin Front during the Battle of Moscow. After several successful battles in the summer of 1942, he was sent to Stalingrad to be part of the 1st Guards Army. He led the 5th Guards Tank Army in the Battle of Prokhorovka during the Battle of Kursk and in Operation Bagration. The unit under his command, the 5th Guards Tank Army, participated in a fierce tank battle near Prochorovka against the advancing Waffen SS divisions Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler, Das Reich, and Totenkopf, under command of SS-Obergruppenführer Theodor “Papa” Eicke  almost at point-blank range of 100-200 meters. When the German advance was noticed, led by the three most elite Waffen SS divisions toward Prochorovka, Rotmistrov ordered a direct counterattack by the army, which was prepared to get as close to the Germans as possible to compensate for the superior guns of the German tanks. In the ensuing battle, a fight between tanks in open field at close range ensued, with most shots from both sides being direct hits. The distance between the fighting forces was so small that tanks shot at each other one by one from the left and right and were close enough to ram the German tanks, thereby disabling their relatively powerful cannons.

After the battle, significant losses were reported in the 5th Guards Tank Army. He was relieved of his duties after Bagration and became the deputy head of the armored troops at the General Staff. The way he conducted the battle, including the heavy losses suffered by the 5th Guards Tank Army, was noted by Joseph “Koba” Stalin, who planned to court-martial and dismiss Rotmistrov for the heavy losses. This did not happen because Aleksandr Mikhaylovich Vasilevski   intervened. It is possible that the heavy losses suffered by the 5th Guards Tank Army in the Battle of Minsk led to his removal from his position. It is remarkable that he never again actively commanded a unit after that. He was promoted to Colonel-General in October 1943 and became the first Marshal of the Armored Troops in February 1944.

After the war, Rotmistrov led the motorized Soviet troops in Germany and became the assistant minister of defense. On April 28, 1962, he became the first Marshal of the Armored Troops.

Death and burial ground of Rotmistrov, Pavel Aleksejevitsj.

Rotmistrov, Pavel Aleksejevitsj passed away in Moskou, on 06-04-1982, age 80, and his ashes rest in the Kremlin Wall, Moscow, Kremlin Wall Necropolis Moscow, Central Administrative Okrug, Moskva, Russia.

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